By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tyler Jones

USNS Comfort Public Affairs

ACAJUTLA, El Salvador (NNS) -- As a 5-year-old girl laid quietly in her hospital bed aboard U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) on July 31, recovering from her recent foot surgery as her mother sat by her side holding her hand.

The surgery, a corrective procedure to repair a foot deformity with which Kathya Cortez was born, is something her mother Patricia has prayed for since her daughter was a baby.

Kathya had what doctors call a “club foot,” a malformation that causes the foot to turn inward, forcing the person to walk on the outside of the foot. Calluses often form and cause excruciating pain.

When Kathya was a year and a half old, Salvadoran doctors were unsuccessful in their attempts to repair the foot, according to Cortez. She described the surgery as a nightmare, saying it left her frightened and unsure of her daughter’s future.

“I feel like it’s hopeless, like a door had closed on me,” she said. “The hospitals here are so under equipped and poorly staffed; I didn’t know where to go or what to do.”

Cortez briefly considered seeking a private Salvadoran doctor, but discovered the cost of the surgery was too much for her to afford.

Soon, she began researching orthopedic surgeons in the U.S. on the Internet, and again realized there was no way she would be able to afford the journey to the States, let alone the procedure.

“My husband and I had basically lost hope,” she said. “All we could do is pray for our daughter and hope that everything would turn out okay.”

After years of dead ends, Cortez saw on television that Comfort would be in her area July 25 through Aug. 1. She hurriedly made plans to drive the hour and a half to Acajutla to try and see the American doctors.

Arriving late to the Sonsonate Hospital in Acajutla, Cortez found herself with her daughter at the end of the line, until Comfort medical personnel called for patients with bone deformities to come to the head of the line.

“It was like a god send,” Cortez said. “After all the waiting, I couldn’t believe that my daughter might actually get the chance to see an American surgeon, and receive the care she needed.”

Following a screening at the hospital, Kathya and her mother were brought aboard Comfort to meet with Lt. Cmdr. Eric Shirley, an orthopedic surgeon.

A surgery was scheduled and Cortez’s prayers were finally answered.

“The procedure is pretty basic, and it’s something I see pretty often,” said Shirley. “After she’s fully recovered, Kathya will be able to walk just fine, and wear shoes without feeling pain.”

Cortez said she was very impressed with the staff aboard Comfort, pointing out the willingness of everyone to help make her and her daughter comfortable.

“I have so much appreciation for everyone here,” she said. “Everyone has been very nice, and has treated my daughter and me with a lot of respect and affection. I thank God for the whole crew, and I’ll never forget any of this.”

Comfort is on a four-month humanitarian deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean providing medical treatment to patients in a dozen countries. El Salvador is the fifth of a dozen countries that Comfort will visit during its first large-scale humanitarian aid mission.

For more news from USNS Comfort, visit www.news.navy.mil/local/tah20/.